Trump: Tax Carried Interest At Same Rate As Income, Hedge Fund, Limited Real Estate People Should Pay More

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said he “would take carried interest out” and that people who make money from hedge funds and limited real estate partnerships should pay more in taxes in an interview on Wednesday’s broadcast of Bloomberg TV’s “With All Due Respect.”

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Trump was asked, [relevant exchange beings around 2:35] “Hillary Clinton has proposed that we should get rid of that carried interest loophole, and tax carried interest at the same rate as ordinary income. Do you agree with her?”

He answered, “Well I’ll tell you this. And the answer is, yes, the carried interest is really a tremendous burden on the country. I have friends that are make — and enemies, mostly enemies, frankly, otherwise maybe I wouldn’t be saying this, but I am saying it for the good of the country. And none of them are going to support me, and I don’t want their support, although I could get it if I want it. And, speaking to that, Hillary Clinton has many hedge fund people supporting her. So, in the end, I would say that the hedge fund people make a lot of money and they pay very little tax. I’m about the middle class. I want the middle class to be thriving again. We’re losing our middle class.”

After Trump said he would “simplify” the tax code, he was asked, “in this respect, you want to tax carried interest in the same way as ordinary income is taxed?” He responded, “I would take carried interest out, and I would let people that are making hundreds of millions of dollars a year pay some tax, because right now they’re paying very little tax, and I think it’s outrageous. I want to lower taxes for the middle class. I want to lower taxes for people that are making a lot of money, that need incentives.”

Trump added that even though this would increase taxes on people in limited real estate partnerships, which he is in, “I’m okay with it, I’m ready, willing. And you’ve seen my statements. I mean, I do very well. I don’t mind paying some tax. The middle class is getting clobbered in this country. You know, he middle class built this country, not the hedge fund guys. But I know people in hedge funds, they pay almost nothing, and it’s ridiculous, okay?”